The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-03-03

PICTURESQUE DAKOTA.
Turtle Mountains-Bottineau 90.
Situated in the extreme north western
portion Of the Devils Lake Land district,
skirted on the north by the mountains
and fringed on the south by the mead
ows Of the Souris or Mouse. river, lies the
far-famed prize wheat county Of Dakota.
These mountains have been described
as simply vast swell in the great prai-
rie region Of the great Northwest and
average 500 feet above the plain and
$500 feet above the level Of the sea.
They cover an area OF about 1.bOO square
miles; OF which about $4,000 acres are
within the limits OF Bottineau county.
'They rise sometimes abruptly. but
generally With a gentle slope from the
Surrounding prairie.
The interior is region of broken hills,
lofty buttes, deep valleys, lakes, and
streams, and the whole mountain region
is we'll timbered. It is drained by branch
es of the Mouse river on the west and
southwest. aid by the head waters Of the
Pemb'na river on the northeast. Many
of the lakes abound in fne fsh-chiefly
pickerel, weighing ten pounds and over.
Fish Lake near the west end Of the noun.
tains is about three and half miles in
length.
Plenty Of game is also to be found there,
from the gorgeous elk to the innocent
Jack-rabbit. Various kinds Of small fruit
grow in luxuriant abundance. Vegeta-
ton is earlier here and the frost is later
than on the prairie. =,
For cattle and sheep raising and the
cultivation of fruits and vegetables in
marketable quantities, these mountains
cannot be surpassed. .
The, Southwest part Of the county,
through which the Mouse river runs, is
almost exclusively = pastoral region. .
'sTMs river flows for the most part, ,at
much lower level than that of the adja.
cent prairie, and its banks, being covered
with an abundant growth of timber, it
aHof ds nnequa ed and almost inexhautiL
BILE facilities for the economical shelter of
stock. So well was this fact known Ito
the stockmen of the Northwest, that the
country was scarcely thrown open before
thousands>of cattle were grazing cii its
rich meadows, the highly nutritious
grasses of which add enormously to its
value for stock-raisine purposes" ,,.
;, About four-ffths Of the area of Botti-
1aeau county are acres Of the highest fer
tility, 4.. y l., .", e..
being, Of an excee iinply rich, black,
sandy loan, averaging two ',feet, with a
suhsoil of clay averaging fiteen feet, in
depth, 1t is in this county where, in 1884,
was raised the wheat which took the first
premium at the. Worlds Exposition at
New. Orleans in 1885 and the very farm
On which it was grown is now the term-
nus OF the principal feeder in North Da-
kota of the st. Paul" Minneapolis & Man.
itoba Railway. The Northwest Land Co.
have plated town at that point which
cannet fail to become the most impor.
tant of any on the line of that road west
of the Red River Valley, and to those
seeking permanent business locations,
the advantages here presented should be
secured while. yet the opportunities are
afforded. Some idea ofIthe settlement of
Bottinsau County may be had from the
following: u.
!, The county was organized in July 1884.
In November following, the vote cast at
the general election was only 81. In
June, 1885, when the census was taken
there were s18 inhabitants. OF these
e46 were native born and 572s came from
foreign lands. Of the latter, 447 are Ca.
nadians, BY far the largest proportion of
whom are English spaking: The vote Of
the county was in November last, 442
which is an increase in two years OF over
four hundred and twenty-six per cent
the population, being, according to the
ratio prevalent in the territory, over
1900. e.
seven-eighths Of this increase is within
2 radius Of ten miles Of the county seat
and the terminal station OF the railroad.
THE CLIMATE 4: "
Of Dakota is to many great bug-bear
but as health is the true criterion ysnd
the possessor Of it has the greatest wealth,
the following comparative statistics on
that subject as SHOWN by the census Of
the q. y. in 1880, and that Of Dakota in
1885, serve to dispsl any illusion or mis-
conception and erroneous notIons preva-
lent in the public mind. and residents Of
the states who contemplate immigration
will do we'll to make note Of these incon-
testable facts & III. II
WHERE HEALTH Is TO BE FOUND.
BY the q. !. cssnsus 81 1880 tho rate Of
New Hampahirs was 16.1 to- ths 1000.
New Jersey 1873 4
Kansas 4 1872 z y q